Electric signaling apparatus for railroads



(N0 ModeL) No. 295,427. L

. F. L. POPE. ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILROADS.

WiTNESSES a djg llipecll'on 9f .Trabu' Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

' INVENTOR.

flan/21 10,118, ,y has flftorneys UNITED STATES PATENT Prion.

FRANK L. POPE, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION SYVITCHAND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAlLROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,427, dated March18, 1884,

Application filed July 30, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Befit known that I, FRANK L. Porn, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Elizabeth, in the county of Union-and State New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric SignalingApparatus for Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 129,425, granted to me July 16, 1872, and reissuedOctober 21, 1873, as No. 5,622, Ihave shown and described a method ofactuating electric signals automatically by the movements of alocomotive or train, in which a railway-track is divided intoa number'ofsignaling-sectionain which the two parallel lines .of rails areinsulated from each other and also from the abutting rails of theadjacent section in each direction. An electro-magnet having avisual orother signal attached to its armature, so as to be alternately displayedand concealed by the movements thereof, is connected by suitableconductors with the insulated rails of the track, and a battery is alsoconnected with said rails in such a manner that when a locomotive ortrain enters upon the insulated section of track its wheels and axlesform a conducting-connection between the opposite insulated lines ofrails, which causes a safety-signal at the entrance of the section to beconcealed, or a dangersignal exhibited, as the case may be, by theaction of said electromagnet. j 1 My present invention relates tocertain improvements in the apparatus described in my said formerpatent, whereby I am enabled to make use of a railroadtrack having oneof its lines of rails formed into a continuous electric conductorextending the length of two or more or any number of signal-sections,while the other line of rails is divided into signal-sections in theusual way by insulating-joints interposed at proper distances from eachother.

To thisend the invention comprises certain mechanism and apparatus,which will be hereinafterparticularly. described, whereby the batterybelonging to any given signal-section is prevented from actuating thesignal of an adjacent section in either direction by reason electricallydiscontinuous.

of an accidental failurein the insulation which electrically separatesone section from another.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway towhich my invention has been applied, the signaling apparatus beingillustrated in diagram; and Fig. 2 represents a modification of certainparts of the apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, A A represent a rai1- way-track constructed in theusual manner, consisting of two parallel lines of metallic 6 rails,which are joined end to end, by spliceplates or otherwise, in such amanner that each line of rails will form a continuous electricconductor, (except as hereinafter stated.) The parallel lines of railsconstituting each section 6 5 are sufficiently insulated from each otherby the non-conducting properties of the ties or sleepers to which theyare secured. The track A A is divided into signaling-sections a b c d ofany required or convenient length, as indicated by the dotted lines. Oneline of rails, r, 'r, is divided at the end of each signal section bynon-conducting spaces, as shown at a, b, and c, at which points jointsor splices of well-known construction are inserted, which 7 5 render thetrack mechanically continuous, but The opposite line of railsfl r, isbothelectrically and niechaniv cally continuous throughout two or moreor any number of signal-sections.

At or near the entrance of each signal-section, in the directionin whichthe train moves, is placed an electro-magnet, as shown at M, M, and MOne of. the terminals of the coils of each eleotro-magnet 'M, M, and Mis con- 8 5 nected with the adjacent end of its corresponding section ofthe line of rails r r bymeans of wires f, f, and f and the otherterminal of each coil with the adjacent end of its corresponding sectionof the line of rails r by means 90 of wires e, e, and 6. At or near theopposite end or exit of each signal-section is placed a battery or otherelectric generator, E E E Each of these batteries has one of its polesconnected to its neighboring section of the 5 sectional rail 1 r, andthe other pole to the continuous rail r r, as shown in the drawings. Bythis arrangement a continuous circuit of electric conductors is formedthroughouteach signal-section, the course of which may be traced, forexample, as follows: Commencing at the positive pole of the battery Ethence by wire 9 as indicated by the arrows, to the continuous rail 2;thence along said rail to the wiree and electro-magnet M; thence by wiref through electro-magnet I to the section-rail r,- thence through saidrail to wire a and thence back to the negative pole of the battery E Theadjacent section a is arranged in the same manner, except that thecurrent from its battery E traverses the system in the oppositedirection, commencing at the positive pole of the battery and goingthrough the section-rail r, wire f, and electro-magnets P and M,returning by wire 6 to the continuous rail 1, and thence by wire 9. tothe negative pole of .the battery. The signal-section a is arranged inprecisely the same way. Thus it will be understood that in eachalternate section the continuous current oirculates'in an oppositedirection. In sections a. and c-the positive pole of the battery isconnectedwith the section-rail r o" and the negative pole with thecontinuous rail 1* 7*, while in sections 7) and c, on the contrary, thenegative pole of the battery is connected with the section-rail and thepositive pole with the continuous rail. The electro-magnets M, M, and'Mmay be employed toactuate a signal of any required character, it beingpreferable to so organize the apparatus as to exhibit safety-signalswhen continuous currents from the batteries are passing through thecoils of the electro-magnets, and signals of danger when the continuouscurrents are diverted or interrupted.

When the apparatus is arranged in the man-' ner hereinbefore explained,a train passing from right to left in the direction indicated in thedrawingswill, upon entering each successive signal-section, form aconnection between the opposite lines of rails through its wheels andaxles, and thus divert the current of the battery at the opposite end ofthe section from the electro-magnet M, M, or M as the case may be, andthus cause a danger-signal to be exhibited by the release of thearmature in a manner well understood. It might happen, however, in somecases, that an electric connection might be formed by accident orotherwise across one of the insulated joints between twosignal-sectionsfor example, at b-.-and in such case a train might .betraversing the signal-section b, diverting the current of battery E fromthe signal-magnet M, which should thereupon release its armature andexhibit a danger signal so long as said train or any portion thereofremains upon the section; but, in consequence of theconducting-connection across the insulated joint I), the current frombattery E of the adjacent section would at the same time tend to passthrough the wires h and f to the signal-magnet M, thence through thewire a and continuous rail 0 1 .to the wire 9, and thence back to thebattery E acting upon the electro-magnet M, and thereby ex- .may befound most convenient.

a second electro-magnet, as at P provided with a polarized armature,pflwhich armature acts as a circuit-closer for a shunt-circuit, s s.

g This shunt-circuit, when closed, unites thewires f and e, which formthe terminals of the electro-magnet M. So long as the electric currenttraverses the coils of the electro-magnet P in its normal direction, asindicated by the arrows in the drawings, the shunt s s will beinterrupted by the polarized armature 12 but if, from any cause, acurrent from the battery of an adjacent sectionas, for example, Etraverses the electro-magnet P the polarized armature 19 will. bedeflected, the shunt s s will be closed, and the foreign current will bediverted from the electro-magnet M, thus preventing asafety-signal frombeing given thereb The armature p of the electro-magnet P may bepolarized from a permanent magnet in a' well-known manner, asillustrated in Fig. l, or it may be rendered magnetic'by a specialmagnetizing-helix, T, as shown in Fig. 2, in which case such helix maybe interposed in the circuit of the adjacent signal-section between itsbattery and either line of rails, as This latter modification may beadvantageously used in cases where especial danger is apprehended fromthe action of lightning upon the permanent magnets employed for thepolarized armatures. I

I claim'as my invention 1. A line of rails of a railroad-track dividedinto two or more electric sections corresponding with or constitutingsignaling-sections, by means of interposed insulating-joints, and havingits alternate insulated sections normally traversed by electric currentsof unlike polarity, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of asection of railwaytrackconsisting of two parallel lines of railsinsulated from each other, each of which constitutes a continuouselectric conductor throughout said section, a battery having itsopposite poles connected with the respective lines of rails, asignal-operating electro-magnet normally rendered magnetic by anelectric current from said battery traversing said parallel lines ofrails, a second electro-magnet provided with a polarized armatureinterposed in the circuit between one of said lines of rails and thesignal-operating magnet, a shunt uniting the terminals of saidsignaloperating magnet, and a circuit-breaker controlled by thepolarized armature of the second electro-magnet, whereby said shunt isinterrupted so long as the current traverses said signaloperating magnetin the normal direction, versal of said current. I

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of asection of railwaytrack. consisting of two parallel lines of railsinsulated from each other, each of which constitutes a continuouselectric conductor throughout the section, a battery having its oppositepoles connected with the respective lines of rails, a signal-operatingelectro-mag net normally rendered magnetic by an electric current fromsaid battery traversing said parallel lines of rails, an electro-magnetprovided with a polarized armature, interposed in the circuit betweenone of said lines of rails and the signal-operating magnet, a helix forpolarizing said armature, included in but is completed in case of there- 1 the circuit of the battery of the adjacent signal-section, a shuntuniting the terminals of said signal-operating magnet, and acircuitbreaker controlled by said polarized armature, whereby said shuntis interrupted so long as the current traverses said signal-operatingmagnet in the normal direction, but is completed in case of the reversalof said current. 4

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 26th day ofJuly, A. D. 1883.

FRANK L. POPE.

